R&S Records

R&S Records is an independent record label founded in 1983 in Ghent, Belgium.[1][2] R&S represents the initials of Renaat Vandepapeliere and Sabine Maes, the couple that created the label.[1][2] R&S Records has had several subsidiaries, most notably Apollo Records, which was reactivated in 2009.[1]

R&S Records label founder Renaat Vandepapeliere in 2012

R&S and its subsidiaries include releases by Lone, Paula Temple, Joey Beltram, Capricorn, Aphex Twin, Biosphere, C.J. Bolland, Sun Electric, The Source Experience/Robert Leiner, Model 500/Juan Atkins, Silent Phase, System 7, Dave Angel, and Ken Ishii.[3][4]

History

The label was first named as Milos Music Belgium but just one record was released on the label. Vandepapeliere went from DJing to developing the label in response to his personal irritation with the Belgian music scene while getting inspired by Belgian New Beat in the late 1980s:[1]

I worked in a record shop, but as a DJ I was getting very frustrated with the Belgian scene. The clubs were so commercial and American music just wasn't accepted. The guys that were importing records here, they went straight into the studio and created a bad cover of it. I didn't like that. I said, "Respect the artist. License it in, and let's have the original track." That's where the idea to start the label started, and it was New Beat that gave me the chance.

In 2000, Vandepapeliere shut down the label. Speaking to Stuart Aitken in 2009, he explained his reasons for doing so. "I was bored. I'd had enough. So I went and did something else. I started my stud farm."[5]

After a hiatus from 2001 to 2006, the label re-launched from its current London base with brand new releases from new artists like James Blake, Delphic, Pariah, Space Dimension Controller, Untold, Djrum, Blawan, Synkro, Lakker, Nicolas Jaar, Vondelpark, Radioslave and the return of Model 500/Juan Atkins.

When asked in an interview with Clash Magazine in November 2009 why the label went on hiatus, Vandepapeliere explained:[1]

I've been away because I was totally bored with the business side of music. At that moment, I thought the whole dance music scene was repeating. I was listening to the same records with the same sounds, so I said, "I've had enough. Bye, bye." I could have been a very clever businessman and exploited it. I could have made much more money, but if I don't feel something in my life – I stop.

In 2018, R&S Records released "Loyalty", the debut release from LA based soul trio Gabriels (Ari Balouzian, Ryan Hope and singer Jacob Lusk).[6][7][8][9][10]

In February 2021, the record was accused of discrimination against black and female artists as well as support for an Anti-Semitic artist on the label's roster.[11] However, the discrimination lawsuit was dismissed in May 2022 on a technicality.[12]

See also

References
  1. Akhtar, Ash (2 November 2009). "Renaat Vandepapeliere Interview". Clash. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. Walker, Jennyfer (8 August 2016). "R&S Records sign deal with Believe Digital". Music Week. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  3. "30 alternative classics from pioneering dance label R&S". FACT. 24 October 2013.
  4. "Top 10 classic R&S Records releases". Four Four. 22 February 2017.
  5. Aitken, Stuart (June 2009). "In Order to Edit". Flux.
  6. Bridgewater, Paul (16 December 2018). "LA group Gabriels graduate from Prada to R&S with a reflection on the timeless mystery of love". The Line of Best Fit.
  7. "Gabriels — Loyalty". R&S Records. December 18, 2018.
  8. "Gabriels - Love And Hate In A Different Time - Repress". Piccadilly Records.
  9. Johnson, Neil (7 December 2020). "Gabriels share new EP 'Love and Hate in a Different Time'". WithGuitars.
  10. Otis, Erik (January 17, 2019). "R&S Records Welcomes Los Angeles' Gabriels". XLR8R.
  11. "Dance label R&S Records accused of racial discrimination". BBC News. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  12. "Tribunal dismisses racial discrimination claims against dance label R&S Records". BBC News. 2022-05-09. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
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